Duchess Sophie's very frank comment on royal life and how she had to 'lower expectations'
On her transition to becoming a full-time royal, Duchess Sophie opened up about her expectations.
The Duchess of Edinburgh has opened up about her transition into royal life after working independently and beginning her career in public relations.
Duchess Sophie previously worked for a variety of firms, including four years at Capital Radio, as well as public relations companies such as The Quentin Bell Organisation and MacLaurin Communications & Media, before launching her own PR company,
In 2002, both Prince Edward and Sophie announced they would quit their business interests to focus on activities and official engagements on behalf of the Royal Family and aid Queen Elizabeth II in her Golden Jubilee year.
Duchess Sophie, however, claims it took her a while to "find her feet" and spoke about the transition with The Times. She said: "Certainly it took me a while to find my feet. The frustration was I had to reduce my expectations of what I could actually do.
"I couldn't turn up at a charity and go, right, I think you should be doing this, because that's what I was used to doing in my working life."
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Duchess Sophie added how she had to learn to adapt when meeting charities and organisations. She added: "I had to take a really big step back and go, OK, they want you to be the icing on the cake, the person to come in to thank their volunteers and funders, not necessarily to tell them how to run their communications plan."
Sophie met the prince in the late 1980s and the pair reconnected in 1993 - they dated for around five years before getting engaged in the Bahamas in 1998.
In 1999, they married in St George’s Chapel in Windsor. It was a low-key event with no state or military involvement, though it was broadcast.
The late Queen is said to have "trusted" and "relied" upon Sophie to a greater extent than many in her inner circle. Some royal experts claimed she saw Sophie as "more like a daughter" than a daughter-in-law, with Tatler Magazine branding her as the Firm's "secret weapon".
For the early part of 2024, following the cancer diagnoses of King Charles and Princess Kate, Sophie and Edward came under the spotlight more than ever, taking on more engagements and showing their support for family.
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Although the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are both working royals, they chose not to grant their children, James, Earl of Wessex and Lady Louise Windsor, royal titles.
The reason behind this decision was so both their children could maintain a somewhat normal upbringing until they came of age when they could choose on their own. Sophie spoke about their decision back in 2020 when she told the Times: "We try to bring them up with the understanding they are very likely to have to work for a living.
"Hence we made the decision not to use HRH titles. They have them and can decide to use them from 18, but I think it’s highly unlikely."
Lady Louise turned 18 in November 2021 and she chose not to take on the princess title. She is currently studying English Literature at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.
